Shloka 656
Karna Reproves Shalya; Brahmin Reports on Bāhlīkas; Shalya’s Universalizing Rebuttal (कर्ण–शल्य संवादः)
समुद्ातुं न शक्ष्यन्ति देवा अपि सवासवा: । ऐसी व्यवस्था कर लेनेपर जब मैं रथमें बैदूँगा, उस समय सभी गुणोंद्वारा अर्जुनसे बढ़ जाऊँगा। कुरुश्रेष्ठ! फिर तो मैं युद्धमें अर्जुनको अवश्य जीत लूँगा। इन्द्रसहित सम्पूर्ण देवता भी मेरा सामना नहीं कर सकेंगे
samudātuṁ na śakṣyanti devā api savāsavāḥ | evaṁ vyavasthāṁ kṛtvā yadāhaṁ rathe niṣatsyāmi tadā sarva-guṇair arjunāt śreṣṭho bhaviṣyāmi | kuruśreṣṭha! tato ’haṁ yuddhe ’rjunaṁ niyataṁ jeṣyāmi | indra-sahitaḥ sarvo deva-gaṇo ’pi mama samīpaṁ na śakṣyati ||
迦尔纳说道：“纵使诸天，连同因陀罗在内，也无法抵挡我。待我布置妥当，登车就座之时，我将在一切德能上胜过阿周那。噢，俱卢中之最优者！那时我在战场上必定击败阿周那。即便因陀罗率领诸天众，也不能与我正面相抗。”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the warrior ethos of confidence and resolve, while also warning—by implication through Karna’s escalating claims—how pride and overconfidence can cloud judgment in dharmic warfare, where outcomes depend not only on prowess but also on righteousness, timing, and destiny.
Karna, preparing for a decisive confrontation, declares that after making certain strategic preparations and mounting his chariot, he will surpass Arjuna in all qualities and surely defeat him—so much so that even Indra and the gods could not oppose him.